E learning for agriculture education in india

IJRET: International Journal of Research in Engineering and Technology eISSN: 2319-1163 | pISSN: 2321-7308

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Volume: 02 Issue: 12 | Dec-2013, Available @ http://www.ijret.org 101

E-LEARNING FOR AGRICULTURE EDUCATION IN INDIA

Himanshu Agarwal1, Arvind Kumar

2

1Dept. of Software Engineering,

2Dept. of Discovery Park,

12

Indian Institute of Information Technology

Allahabad-211012, India [email protected],

[email protected]

Abstract E-learning is a modern way of learning now days. It includes electronic media in the field of education. E-learning makes use of (ICT)

information and communication technology. Now a day, In every field like learning in medical or learning in agriculture, e-learning is

going popular to use. E-learning involves various types of media that provide video, audio, images and text. E-learning uses the

intranet/ extranet / internet, and widens the horizon of traditional learning. This article explores the time when the concept of e-

learning was introduced, mentions its basic principles, discuss the ways in which it is superior than the traditional educational system.

E-Agriculture is a rising field that specialize in the improvement of agricultural and rural development through improved and updated

information and communication processes. Specifically, e-Agriculture involves the conceptualization, design, development, analysis

and application of innovative ways in which to use information and communication technologies (IT) within the rural domain, with a

primary specialize in agriculture. E-Agriculture may be a comparatively new term and that we totally expect its scope to alter and

evolve as our understanding of the realm grows.

Keywords: E-Education in agriculture, E-learning, E-Education system, Internet-Education, Impact of E-Learning in

Education.

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1. INTRODUCTION

E-leaning focuses on usage of technology in the field of

education and learning. E learning refers to the use of

advanced technology of information communication in the

learning process where the advanced technology comprises of

electronic media. In the current scenario, the rapid growth of

information and communication technology has led to the

alphabet ―e‖ becoming the symbol of this latest age of

information technology. The alphabet ―e‖ is used as

abbreviation for electronics. Thus, words prefixed with ―e‖ are

currently emerging in every second field, like e- learning, e-

health, e-business, e-government and many more. In the

current scenario, where the world is being dominated by

globalization, networking and information technology has

reached its peak, e-learning plays a vital role in the field of

education.

In the field of agriculture, according to Nelson, ―Today,

farmers feed 6 billion people. However, some 800 million

people go to bed hungry every night and 166 million children

are malnourished. At the same time, current agricultural

practices are responsible for dead zones at the mouths of the

world‘s rivers and rapid species extinctions. By 2050, the

human population will grow by two to three billion. The

challenge for agriculture is not only producing more food but

producing it in a sustainable manner while raising living

standards for the poor, many of whom live and work in

rural areas. All this must be done while dealing with the

uncertain consequences of global warming and geopolitics.

The solutions will include new policies, new technologies, and

new production practices‖ (Nelson 2006)

2. HISTORY OF E-LEARNING

A revolution in the information technology and the emergence

of web has made the human society take a huge leap. The

focus of society is shifted from industry to information. The

appearance of information technology has been the most

important event at the start of this century. Information

technology suddenly became an important element of every

aspect of our society. Education is no exception. The use of

multimedia and networking is welcomed by the field of

education.

In 1960, the University of Illinois developed a classroom with

linked computer terminals where the students could listen to

recorded lectures of a particular course. This was the first time

that some form of e-learning was followed. In the beginning of

1960s, some professors of Stanford University used computers

to teach mathematics and reading in elementary schools.

Computer based learning gave birth to many e-learning

courses. With the growth of internet in 1990s, correspondence

schools like University of Phoenix, started showing interest in

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virtual education. By 1994, the first online high school

CALCampus came into existence. The combination of online

education and face-to-face teaching methods has gained more

success than using the two methods individually.

Some experts refer to the education in 21st century as a

multimedia network education. Educational informization is

being accepted and promoted by all the nations around the

world. A fact stated by the National Centre for Education

Statistics that in 2008, there were 18 million students, who

were enrolled in some online program worldwide, which was

a 1.6% increase from 2002.In India, even though the statistics

are not so high, still there is a large scope of online education

[1].Under this situation, the education system and the teaching

methods and many other things related to the education field

are changing. And this transformation has given birth to e-

learning.

3. THE BASIC PRINCIPLES

The concept of e-learning grows in e-commerce, but it does

not have a combined definition currently. Originally, e-

learning focuses on study based on the network or internet.

But practically, the multimedia learning is included under e-

learning. At the abstract level, e-learning refers to use of

electronic media in the field of study, and in a more specific

way, it deals with education carried out using internet. Since

e-learning is user friendly and easy to interact, hence its use is

now preferred at a global level.

The basic principle of e-learning is the Construction Principle

Theory, which came into existence after the emergence of

network and multimedia. In the present scenario, knowledge

changes rapidly, hence scientific knowledge is not sufficient

enough to suit the requirements of the changing times. The

emergence of e-learning gave rise to the construction

principle, whose study views are:

3.1 Study is a Significant Construction Process:

The level of awareness decides the extent to which people

understand things. People don‘t gain the knowledge through

the instructions given to them by the teacher, but by their own

experience with the unit they are studying. The correlation

between the person who is learning and the external

environment leads to the development of knowledge

3.2 Learner: An Active Factor:

In the process of imparting knowledge, one of the active

factors is learner. The cognitive structure of the learner affects

the learning process and its results.

Each learner has its own experience and practical knowledge.

Thus sometimes, the information obtained is not identical with

the real situation. In such cases, consulting can be the only

solution. Due to the variance of learners worldwide, the focus

of teaching appraisal should be on cognition process of the

students instead of the result of learning.

3.3 Study is a Real Experience:

The real world situation makes the study more effective. The

main aim of imparting knowledge is to make the learner

understand the things, as well as to make him/her utilize the

knowledge in real world situations.

This explains that the construction principle is centred on the

student. The teacher acts like the organizer or the promoter of

the entire process of teaching.

4. THE BENEFITS OF E-LEARNING

E-learning is yet to become the large scale method of training

teachers in the educational field. When compared with the

traditional methods of training teachers, e-learning has the

merits shown below:

4.1 Low Cost:

E-learning is far cheaper than traditional methods of teaching

because of no use of paper and pencil and with the reduced

expense of teacher training. It can be carried out at any place

and at any time.

It also saves a lot of time and now the various parameters will

not be limited to the size of the class and number of students.

4.2 Flexible:

E-learning can be carried out anywhere without strict time

boundations it leads to a more flexible environment for

students.

4.3 Personalization

Unlike traditional teaching practices in e-learning the training

material is not chosen by teacher or some organization and can

help students to obtain their own requirement of knowledge.

5. APPLICATION IN EDUCATION TRAINING

E-learning is superior to traditional learning when it comes to

reduction of training time, cost and having better effect. E-

learning has promoted student learning and improved the

process of education training. It has appeared in following

aspects:

5.1 Application of Various Learning Patterns:

With the development of computer technology, various

learning patterns have emerged. A good e-learning pattern

includes both formal and informal learning. The aim of

blended learning or formal learning is to confirm that some


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study patterns are superior to others. A way is designed, which

combines the strategies of learning, the methods, the modes of

transmission and the medium, and gives birth to online and

offline, named as E+C combination plan. It stands for e-

learning+ classroom. The main goal of blended learning is to

achieve study goals. But in e-learning education, informal

training is more popular, as the learning is spontaneous and

independent. The students are provided exchange environment

by the online learning committee.

5.2 Construction of the Study Resources:

A vital component of e-learning is the resource storehouse.

Development of the study resources of e-learning consist of

two partial contents. One is of curriculum resources

storehouse, while the other one is of learning resources

storehouse. The curriculum resources include classes for text,

sound frequency, 3D simulation, and three point screens. The

learning resource provides the study content to facilitate

informal learning. Learning resource storehouse includes case

store, trial question bank, and seminar arena. All these

resources help in studying the online curriculum. These two

contents support education training in a combined and

inseparable manner.

5.3 Development of Technical Support System:

The technical support system for e-learning includes 4 aspects,

which are the infrastructure, the platform, the management

system and the supporting software and tools. The network

infrastructure comprises of database, distributed resources,

visualization technique, grid technology and a high speed

network. The main components of e-learning platform are

application platform and infrastructure of network. The

management aspect involves managing the online curriculum,

the resources and the process of learning. Some of the

supporting tools and software are documents editing tool,

media processing tool, the software for courseware

manufacture and many more.

CONCLUSIONS

The present century is the century if digitalization and

informationization. E-learning supports the widespread use of

educational training. E-learning has various advantages over

the traditional techniques of learning and is superior. E-

learning helps in the development of agriculture education. By

the help of e-learning many farmers learn the new techniques

of increasing crop yields and methods of agriculture

productivity in a very short time by internet.

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http://thinkofit.com/plato/dwplato.htm





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BIOGRAPHIES:

Himanshu Agarwal: M.Tech in Software engineering from

Indian Institute of Information Technology, Allahabad. His

Research interest includes E-governance, E-learning and

Software engineering.

Dr. Arvind Kumar: Now presently working as a scientist B

in Discovery Park, Indian Institute of Information Technology,

Allahabad. His research interest includes field executive, rural

development, agriculture science.

E learning for agriculture education in india

Engineering

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